| Municipality of Cervignano del Friuli
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Pop.: 12,392
Area: 28,47 sq. km, 2 m a.s.l.
Neighbourhoods: Muscoli, Scodovacca, Strassoldo
Town Hall: P. Indipendenza, 1 - 33052 Cervignano del Friuli
Phone.: 0431.32007 Fax: 0431.35651
www.cervignano.net
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Inhabited since the Iron Age
(protohistoric metal tools were
found), the territory was densely settled
in Roman times thanks to the existence
of thoroughfares and most of all to the
River Ausa (the ancient Alsa) which was
navigable and is still today the main feature of
the town. Productive facilities and rustic villas
appeared along the river, complete with
berthings, as has been recently revealed by the
excavations in the church of San Michele
Arcangelo, and Roman remains are
incorporated in the outside walls of the
20th-century small church of San Girolamo.
Near the church of S. Michele, a Benedictine
abbey complex developed in the early Middle
Ages (7th-11th centuries), of which a fresco
fragment with symbolic subjects remains.
Below the present-day church, decorated with
frescoes by Sebastiano Santi from
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Venice (1846), a modern crypt
allows visitors to view the
archaeological remains. The
town of Cervignano played a
crucial role in the so-called
"Gradisca wars" (1615-1617),
but the strong defensive
structure used on the
occasion was then destroyed.
Today Cervignano is a
thriving trading centre and a
vital road point for the
economy of Bassa Friulana.
Piazza Indipendenza, the
tree-lined town centre, is the
backdrop for the lovely Neo-
Renaissance Town Hall
(1927) with its tall Clock
Tower. A visit to the Chapel
of Santa Croce is a must, to
see the Countess's
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Christ, an
exquisite 13th-century
recently restored wooden
sculpture. The chapel is
annexed to Villa Bresciani, Attems, Auersperg
(16th-19th centuries), a mainly
18th-century noble residence
by the impressive external
central staircase. Borgo
Strassoldo, deriving its name
from the powerful noble
household still living there,
has a rich history: the village
has retained its late medieval
structure, in spite of the
numerous restorations,
especially in the 1700s, it
underwent. A Castro de
Strassolt, probably built after
the devastating Hungarian
invasions, was certainly
mentioned since 1275 and
when the feudal family split
into two lines, two separate
castles were created,
developing around two
separate towers near which
River
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Taglio flowed: Castello
di Sopra and Castello di
Sotto. The former (10th-18th
centuries) includes the
remains of the 14th-century
walls and Ottone's tower,
but looks now as a 17th-18thcentury
noble residence
connected by an elevated
passage to the lovely church
of San Nicolò (18th cent.),
while the latter is more
complex (13th-18th centuries),
with its 14th-century keep
and the family chapel of San
Marco (1575), whose façade
shows medieval paterae. Its
superb historical garden
perfectly harmonizes with the
enchanting natural
surroundings. In the same
neighbourhood, the church
of S. Maria in Vineis
(13th-14th and 18th centuries)
contains parts of
14th-15th-century frescoes
with Stories from the Old
and New Testaments. Apart
from some rural hamlets,
several noble residences,
mainly 18th-century, are
worth mentioning:
Villa de Obizzi, Anzone at
Borgo Gortani and
Villa Chiozza at
Scodovacca, whose
remarkable park is the seat of
a Regional Centre for
Agricultural Studies.
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The name "Bassa"
identifies the Friuli plains
extending towards the Adriatic,
beginning more or less from the so-called
Stradalta (just a bit south
of the present-day
Strada
Napoleonica),
namely below the line of
resurgences from which
rivers or streams or
simply natural springs
often originate,
contributing to shaping the...go
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